Highland Fling
by buglady9
Summary: Bones goes to Scotland to collaborate with an old friend and clear her head about the events from Season 3 finale, however what should be a holiday and nice anthropology field work turns out to be a little more sinister... Chapter 5 and 6 just in!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Author's note: I'd love to hear your reviews and comments on this story. This is the first one I have written so I'm sure there's room for improvement. I have just edited the first three chapters for layout. Thanks to Sherlock Bones for beta-reading.**

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Temperance Brennan woke up begrudgingly. The stewardess was announcing on the tannoy that they had landed and would be able to disembark shortly: "… please make sure to take all your belongings with you. We wish you a pleasant stay in Scotland and hope to see you again on of our flights." People around her were getting up, opening the lockers and gathering their personal effects. She started paying attention to their conversations, dress, physiognomy even. She always did when she went somewhere new; it was her way of immersing herself in the culture. Most people sounded like Scottish, returning back from a trip although she heard a few other accents, suggesting people from other part of the country were also present, on business maybe, she thought, or simply visiting.

Finally they were leaving the plane, everyone filing in, busy checking their mobile phone for messages, some already calling to say they had landed. She thought of her own phone and decided to leave it until later. First she wanted to get her luggage and find her way to the arrivals area where Sam would be waiting for her. She was tired from the flight and happy to see that since she had arrived to the UK via London, where she already had to go through immigration, she was able to reach the lobby rather quickly. Slowly scanning the area, busy with people greeting each other, her eyes came to rest on a man standing off to the left, waving at her. He made his way over and enveloped her in a huge bear hug:

" Tempe! How is it going?"

"Sam! How are you?"

They had both spoken at once. After he released her she studied him. It had been 5 years since she had seen him. Temperance had met Sam Patel when she was a graduate student, working towards her doctorate. He was working as a post-doctorate researcher with her supervisor and they had bonded immediately. He was another anthropologist, specialising in funeral practises in the West since medieval times while she was already headed towards forensic anthropology. They had enjoyed discussing recent articles and sharing theories and they both had found kinship in each other in their love and interest in other cultures.

Sam was British, born and raised in Glasgow from Indian parents. He couldn't afford to go home very often and she didn't have family to go back to so they tended to spend the Christmas holidays together. Aside her childhood Christmas days she had spent with her family before her parents left, Christmas holidays with Sam had been the best she'd ever had. Sam had returned to Britain when he had been offered a lectureship at Glasgow University but they had stayed in touch. He hadn't changed very much, she thought, his hair was shorter and he now wore glasses but he was very much the same as she remembered, his eyes still sparkling with mischievous intelligence and his smile warm. He had got married two years ago and Temperance had unfortunately not been able to attend the reception because she was tied up in a complicated case back in DC. She was looking forward to meeting his wife after he had talked about her so much by e-mails.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as they made their way to the baggage reclaim area.

"Tired and a little jet-lagged but happy to be here. I'm really looking forward to this collaboration."

"Alexa wanted to be here too but she's been a little tired lately so we'll see her for dinner."

"I understand. How far along is she now?"

"Seven months, she's almost there…"

Sam and his wife Alexa had offered Temperance to stay with them for the duration of her stay but Tempe had declined politely not wanting to give them extra work around their house with Alexa so heavily pregnant. Instead she had asked for some recommendations for a hotel or serviced apartment and Sam had arranged with the University that she may stay in one the small flats they used for staff.

They were on their way to Glasgow's West End where Sam and Alexa lived. The traffic was fluid despite the continuous rain. It was a grey, rainy and windy day, much like she had imagined Scotland to be, despite Sam's claims that it wasn't always like that. She had left Washington DC on a warm June morning and was a little taken aback by the cold and rain in Glasgow. Tempe had been to the UK before but never visited Scotland and she was looking forward to her time there, both because it was a new place to discover and because of the project Sam and herself would be working on. A week ago he had rang her saying that there had been a small subsiding under one of Glasgow old cemeteries, known as the Necropolis, and had disturbed a lot of tombs in some cases exposing some of the remains. The site was of historical importance and since he had been involved in a number of studies relating to it over the years he had been asked to supervise a small team to help recover and identify which remains belong where and hopefully save as much as possible of the site. He needed someone with her expertise on the team and said he would love for her to contribute to the project if she had the time. At first Temperance had been tempted to say no since she was already very busy at the Jeffersonian but instead she had said to Sam that she wanted to think about it for a day or two first. Then she thought over the events of the past few weeks. So much had been going on lately.

Six weeks ago, she had discovered that Zach was in fact an accomplice of the Gormoggon killer, whom they had been investigated for almost a year. Not only had Zach tempered with evidence and hidden remains, he also had killed someone in cold blood. She still couldn't get over the fact that it had really happened, and every time she thought about it she wanted to scream. Zach had been her student and recently had become her colleague and equal. She had watched him develop his skills as an anthropologist and she knew he had already become one of the best in his field despite his young age. She simply couldn't accept that it was possible that he had been manipulated in such a way.

To top it all, this had happened in the aftermath of Booth's fake death. After her partner had taken that bullet for her, after she had killed his stalker, he had been taken to hospital where she was been told in a corridor, by his boss that he hadn't made it. She hadn't believed him at first. How could it be? How could Booth die on her? She knew it wasn't rational but somehow a part of her saw him as some kind of invincible force; he couldn't die this easily. For two weeks she had immersed herself in her work, the only way she knew how not to think about him; about the fact they would not share Thai food anymore, about the fact that yet again she was alone. She had found her family again only to lose him so soon after. When his funeral had come she hadn't wanted to go because it would then have to be real; she would have to accept that he was gone, forever. Somehow Angela had convinced her to go, only for them all to find out halfway through the service that the whole thing had been a farce! A farce! She couldn't think of another word to describe it. A bad joke, the worst possible kind! And she felt like she had been the butt of it…

She had thought that she would never be able to trust him again but part of her, behind the simmering anger at having been lied to, was just relieved that he was alive. Yes he was still here, he would still going to try to convince her to have pie at the dinner or turn up late at her place with take-outs. Before she had been able to fully process his resurrection, they had been thrown back into the Gormoggon investigation. When Zach had been found out she had turned to Booth to help her cope and he had been there for her. Slowly the residual mistrust that she still harboured for deceiving her had subsided. How she had berated herself at first for needing his support so much! But in the end he had been the only one who seemed to make sense to her, his words had been comforting, they had shared many "guy hugs" and more importantly he'd helped her see that Angela, Hodgins and Cam were also suffering immensely from this betrayal. Thanks to him, she had been able to reach out to them and strangely, it had helped her move on, slowly. She wasn't ever going to get over it really, but the pain would dull, he had said, and now six weeks after it had happened she thought he may be right; she was now being able to function almost normally, at least at work.

She hadn't been to visit Zach though and she thought it would take a great deal longer before she could face him. So she found herself considering that a trip to a foreign country, meeting with an old friend and being involved in something completely new would be a welcome break. She rang Sam back within two hours of his first phone call and said she'd be over the following week. She had needed to clear it with Cam first but she had been very supportive, if a little jealous at her opportunity to escape. Booth of course had wanted to come with her, bringing up all sort of unlikely reasons why she may need him but in the end he had understood that she needed the change of scenery.

And now there she was in Glasgow, on a cold, rainy afternoon. Sam had just stopped the car in front of a tenement she took to be where her apartment was located. They were in the area surrounding the University, in a small street lined with traditional Victorian sandstone buildings. Students walked quickly in the rain heading to lectures or coming back home. She had been very quiet during the journey from the airport and she was thankful that Sam had let her absorb the city unfolding around her. He helped her to her door with her bags and after agreeing that she would come over for dinner that evening he left so she could get settled and take some much needed rest.

She stood in the hallway for a minute after the door closed behind him and decided to take in her surroundings. The hallway opened at the end onto a large sitting room and open plan kitchen with a huge bay window, providing her with a nice view of the street below. On her left was a door leading to the bathroom, small but functional, and on her right another door opened onto a large and airy double bedroom. Sam had been right in insisting she let him organise this rather than book into a hotel. She was going to be here for probably two weeks maybe more and this was just perfect.

She called Booth quickly to let him know that she had arrived before he rang half of the local police force because he hadn't heard from her and also sent a quick message to Angela. It was two o'clock by the time she had emptied her bags and tidied everything away and even though she was tired she wanted to wait until tonight to get some sleep so that she could slip into the new time zone more easily. She looked out the window and realised that it had stopped raining; the sun was slowly breaking through the clouds and she decided to head out for a bit.

This was the part that Temperance like best about being somewhere new: discovering the streets, watching the people around, trying to learn from it a little bit about their culture. The street her building was located on was very pleasant in the sun: trees lined the street on both sides, adding a touch of colour to the pale gold of the sandstone buildings. Only a few cars passed her by the time she had arrived to a much larger street. The plaque on the street corner said Great Western Road. She turned left and kept going until she reached a crossroad. Diagonally across from her were the Botanic gardens and if she turned left she would find herself at the heart of the West End on Byres Road. The street looked inviting with all its small shops, grocery stalls and flower vendors. The sun was now beaming and the temperature had gone up by a few degrees.

She carried on down the street, just watching as life went on around her. She got a sandwich and a latte from the ubiquitous Starbucks (they really were everywhere she thought) and asked the young girl at the counter which way to go to get to the University. She had to ask the girl to repeat herself several times before she was sure she had caught everything. Her accent was strong and Tempe wasn't used to it. Sam either made an effort when he spoke to her or his accent just wasn't as strong. Finally Tempe reached the old University building, which stood imperially, in all of its neo-gothic splendour under the sun. It was really quite impressive and gave the whole street character. She entered through the gates and started wandering to the old quadrant at the centre and eventually found her way into Kelvingrove Park. Students were walking to and fro, some sitting in the grass enjoying the sun. She checked her watch and realised it was already 4 and thought she had better get back to her flat if she wanted to be ready for when Sam would pick her up.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Booth clicked off his phone. Bones had been brief and she sounded tired. She said she would speak to him the next day. He really wished he had somehow found a way of going with her. It seemed that she had only just forgiven him for his "death" and started processing Zach's betrayal when she had decided to go for her trip across the pond to visit "the men in skirts", as he had put it.

He had first suggested that he should accompany her to insure her safety; he had heard many times that Glasgow was infamous for the high level of knife crime in the city. At that she had scoffed, of course, reminding him that she had been to far more dangerous places than that and that most cities in the US probably had higher crime rates than Glasgow anyway. After several more attempts he had had to accept that she was going on this trip alone. He had at least agreed on one thing with her; he would be bored to tears hanging out with other squints talking about anthropologically this and anthropologically that. And it would have been a shame to use some his holidays to spend time in the rain and cold. Still he was glad she had accepted his offer of a lift to the airport and he was even happier that she had seem a little sad at letting go of him after their good-bye hug. Or was it just wishful thinking?

He pocketed his phone and tried to concentrate on the mountain of paperwork that was tittering on the edge of his desk. He would really get in trouble if he didn't get that done and since there were no cases to work on at the moment, he might as well use the time to get it finished. His mind kept going back to the last few weeks though. He had thought Bones would never forgive him for not telling her that he wasn't in fact dead. She had even broken into his house, his bathroom… He winced at the thought of that incident, how he had stood up in the heat of the moment forgetting he was completely naked. They had never talked about it afterward, even Sweets had known better than to bring it up in their subsequent sessions. Still he was convinced that just for a second she had looked down and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Despite this though, they had grown closer after Zach's arrest, and now she seemed to trust him again completely. She had even invited him one evening to spend some time with her and her family. He knew she still couldn't think about Zach without crying but she had seemed ready to start moving on. She hadn't pretended no to hear when Cam had suggested they started to look for someone to fill in his position. He knew that Bones had relied on him more than ever during that time and he had been surprised that she had allowed herself to accept his support.

She had changed so much since they had first met and he was glad that he was at least in part responsible for her opening to the world around her. He also knew that everyday that damn line, his line, was getting blurrier. He couldn't deny that his hands always found ways to touch her even briefly, nor could he be oblivious to the fact that she was now leaning into his touch a little more each time. And then, recently in those dark moments where he knew she was thinking about Zach, they had hugged; and these were most definitely not guy hugs because he sure as hell didn't hug any of his buddies like that. The hugs had been tighter and longer and it always felt like neither of them wanted to let go. Maybe it was better that she had gone away for a bit. It would allow them to find their own space again. Because he knew that there was only so much he could take before he decided to send that damn line to hell, screw the consequences and kiss her, and he just wasn't sure what her reaction would be to that. With her there was no telling. He could read bad guys, he could sense the most obscure motivations in the least cooperating suspect but he could rarely decipher what went on in that brain of hers.

He checked his watch again. Only 10 o'clock. God this was going to be a long day! It was going to be a long two weeks if he couldn't stop thinking about her the whole time she was gone! At least the friend she was meeting was married…he told himself and started writing another report. This had been another one of his reasons for wanting to go with her at first. He had felt a slight pang of jealousy after she had announced her intentions of meeting up with an old friend. He thought about that slimy Michael who had used her to make himself feel better and he couldn't bear the thought of some other nerdy, tweed-wearing academic treating like that again…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Temperance and Sam had arrived at his flat, only a few streets away from her own. The door opened to reveal a rather petite, brown haired and blue-eyed, very pregnant woman.

"You must be Temperance, nice to meet you, I'm Alexa" she said in a soft, singing Irish accent.

"Nice to meet you too" Tempe replied shaking her hand "I have heard so much about you." She immediately felt comfortable around Alexa, who reminded her a little of Angela.

They had a lovely dinner where Alexa told some stories about her youth in Ireland and Sam in their early dating days. Temperance was enjoying herself and realised that she hadn't laughed so much for a very long time. At around 9, Alexa excused herself to go to bed as she was very tired and Sam went to help her out of her chair and kissed her good night. Tempe thought to herself that these two very much in love and for the first time in a very long time she felt a little pinch in her heart, that she had never shared such an emotional connection with anyone. For the first time she thought that maybe being independent was not the only way to go through life happy.

Sam brought her out of her reverie when he asked her if she wanted some coffee. They moved to the cosy couch in the corner of the room and settled in silence for a few minutes. "Alexa is wonderful Sam," Tempe said, "you two are very lucky to be together".

Sam couldn't help but notice the hint of melancholy that had crept in her voice: "What about you Tempe, are you seeing anyone?" She shook her head slowly and he continued, "How have things been with you lately? It seems that you are trying to forget something…" She smiled as his voice trailed. How did he do that? How could he see through her like this? Only Booth could read her that easily she thought and she smiled a little more. Sam had always had this uncanny ability to empathise with everyone he knew. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, I'm sorry I asked," he said misinterpreting her silence. "No it's fine," she said, "in fact maybe it'll be good to talk to someone who hasn't been part of it." She surprised herself at her words. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk about all this but he was her friend and had always had been of good advice. They used to share a lot when they worked together. "The last two years have been an emotional roller coaster," she started…

Three hours later she had told him everything that had happened, how she had finally buried her mother, made contact with her brother, found her father, how Booth had arrested him, how during the trial she had deflected the suspicions on herself so that he would be acquitted, and how she'd had to kill someone after Booth had been shot, how she thought he had died and finally how they had discover that Zach was a murderer. He had let her speak, without any interruptions so she would tell the story her own way. When he was sure she was through, he looked at her with concern in his eyes: "Are you OK, Tempe? I mean this is a lot of things happening for one person…"

"Well I'm not great, I came here for a change and I think it's already working a little and to tell you everything just like that, that was cathartic…"

"And this Booth guy he's…"

"Just my partner" finished and then she corrected herself, "no, not just my partner, he's also my friend"

Sam eyed her strangely. He had never known her to have long-term relationships. She had never opened up enough to anyone to allow it and she also had that idea that it was all about biological urges and biochemistry. He had always found it amusing, until today that is, because today it looked like she had suffered a great deal, and by suppressing a wide range of emotion to protect herself she had also prevented herself from finding someone who could help her through the hard times. Sure she had friends, and good ones by the sound of it but still she was here thousand of miles away from them, trying to move on, all on her own, the way she always had done. There was nothing he could say to her at this point. He just hoped the distance would make her see things in a different light. He didn't know Agent Booth but she had a way to talk about him that told him there was more to their relationship than she had let on. He had also gathered from what she had told him that although her life had been turned upside down in the last few years she had also found a certain balance, yes she was still a work-aholic but she seemed to have opened up her heart a little, maybe taken some of her walls down a bit, and he was convinced that it had to do with a certain FBI agent that he had yet to meet…


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: Sorry for the long wait. Thank you to all the readers who reviewed. I hope I have now fixed the paragraphing problem and that you enjoy the rest of the story. I'll try to post more regular updates. Again thanks to Sherlock Bones for beta-reading.**

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Chapter 4

On the Sunday, Tempe caught up on sleep; it was very late when she came back from Sam's the night before and she hadn't slept well on the plane. She went out for a bit to see more of the city, since it had stayed sunny. She made her way to the Necropolis which spread around St. Mungo's cathedral in the East End of the city and was a site of peculiar beauty. A field of headstones was staring back at her. Nowadays, people were only being buried here if there was space in a family plot. So although not many burials took place anymore, the site was integral to the city's history. Sam had briefly explained that the cemetery had been created in 1833, as an interdenominational space, and a number of rich merchant and influential people had been buried there ever since.

The damage caused by the flooding and subsequent slide wasn't evident from where she was sitting, but Sam had told her that some remains had washed away, being found several hundred yards away from the original site. Some headstones had collapsed, so they would have to dig and rebury the remains found there, after they had been attributed to their rightful owner of course. Sam had also explained that the tomb baring headstones were only the visible tip of the iceberg. There were also hundreds of not so wealthy people buried without large headstone to mark the space. Thankfully the records of the cemetery had been well kept over the years, and they would have good documentation to help them in their task. Sam's team had already started to catalogue what they knew of the deceases using the archives of the cathedral. Her job would be to reassemble and identify as many sets of remains as possible before she would go back to DC, and then one of her British colleagues would take her place. She was really grateful for the opportunity to be involved.

Monday was a bright and sunny day; she was in the lab that Sam had reserved for his team to work in, in a building just off University Avenue, early and eager to get started. The room was bright, not as well equipped as the Jeffersonian Institute, but she had worked in much worse conditions. She decided on a plan of action where she would catalogue each bone, or set of bones that she had been given, and then try to match the bones together. When she had enough of a skeleton, she could then attempt to identify basic features which would be useful in matching remains against the archival records; a task for the rest of the team, which consisted of undergraduate students, one technician and a couple of PhD students. Everyone was very excited about the project and had been very excited to meet Temperance. Usually uncomfortable in social situation, she found that these people made her feel relaxed and at ease; the easy banter between them and the obvious enthusiasm about the task at hands made her feel at home.

They had been working for three days solid, taking few breaks, starting early and finishing late. They were making good progress and had already managed to identify a good numbers of remains. In the evening, she had let the rest of the team convince her to join them at one of the local pubs on Byres Road. Their arguments had won her over; clearly they had already figured out how she functioned. They had said that it was her duty as an anthropologist to observe the local culture in its most natural environment: the pub! So there she was, sitting with the rest of them in one of the dark corners of the dimly lit pub, nursing a half pint of Lia Fael. One of the students had recommended this particular Scottish ale, and Tempe found that she was really enjoying her drink.

So far she hadn't really taken part in the conversation; she was happy to listen and observe and they seemed to be talking about a TV programme that she didn't know about anyway. Sam had already gone, not wanting to leave Alexa on her own for too long. After a short time, Temperance was able to recognize the different accents within the group; overall Scottish, but presumably from different parts, just like there was more than one American accent. She had also noticed that they toned down their accent when speaking to her. Slowly her ear was finding it easier to understand them, but sometimes it wasn't just the accent that was a hurdle, they also used different words. She was brought out of her reverie by one of the PhD students, Fiona asking her a question: "Can I ask you something about your books Doctor Brennan?"

Tempe smiled and nodded "Sure.

"Do you get the inspiration from actual cases you have worked?"

"Hum, yes and no. I will use some weapons or injuries I have encountered but I wouldn't use a situation, ethically it would be disrespectful to the victims and their families."

"What about Kathy? Is she a sort of alter ego?" And then Fiona started to blush and apologise "I'm sorry, was that too personal?"

"No, it's fine. I guess you could say that Kathy and I share some characters traits but she's more adventurous…" At this point Tempe was hoping that Fiona was not going to ask her about her inspirations for Andy or those hot sex scenes that she wrote. She may have denied it countless time, and it hadn't started out that way but, yes, Booth really was who she was thinking about when she was writing about agent Lister and his prowesses in the bedroom, or anywhere else for that matter…Thankfully, Fiona's line of questioning was interrupted by the ringing of her mobile phone and Tempe saw it as her cue to leave. It was getting late anyway. She said her goodbyes and headed back to her apartment.

It was mid-morning the next day when she picked up a humerus from a box or remains, however the bone didn't come out of the box on its own, rather it came still attached to the radius and ulna by ligaments, and there was still a lot of tissue attached to the surface of the bone. Her eyes narrowed and she moved to one of the dissecting scopes on the bench behind her to examine the bones more closely. There was no possible doubt, these bones were recent. She called out to Sam and asked when the last burial had taken place at the Necropolis. When he answered that it had been twenty years ago, she knew they had a problem.

Sam had made his way over to her workspace, curious why she should ask that particular question. He found her with a quizzical look on her face and looked down to see what was so puzzling. He flinched when he saw what she was examining. Their eyes met: "Can you tell anything more than the obvious about these?" he pointed with his chin.

"I should be able to get an idea of age but anything else is going to be difficult with so little to go on. I think we should check the other boxes to see if the rest of the skeleton is in there. And probably call the police…"

"Yes, I'll get in touch with them right now. One of my close friends is a DI at Strathclyde Police…Can you inform the rest of the team of what we are looking for in those boxes? It'll be faster if we all search the boxes." With that he was gone to his office to phone DI James Mackenzie.

DI James Mackenzie was having coffee with DS Catriona Stewart, talking over the meeting they had just had, regarding the new knife crime policies in the city. It had been rather long and boring, but the actual policies made sense and hopefully would make a difference soon. Neither of them wanted to investigate yet another petty fight gone wrong because too many Neds carried knives for "protection". James' phone rang and he answered, wondering why his old friend Sam was calling him. He quickly assumed that Alexa had given birth early. Sam assured him that his wife was not yet ready to give birth and told him of his team's grim discovery. Catriona was listening to James' side of the conversation, but could not make much sense of it and it looked like her colleague had trouble following what was being said to him. Finally he hung up and looked at her: "Fancy going back to Uni?"

"What?" she asked, puzzled

"I'll tell you in the car, let's go."

They exited the Police Station and climbed in their car, Catriona at the wheel. She was a slim and curvy brunette, with bright blue eyes; her hair cascading on her shoulders in a jumble of loose curls. James was sitting in the passenger seat, the seat pushed as far back as the car would allow to accommodate his long legs; at 6'4", he found it difficult to get enough leg space anywhere he went.

His piercing blue eyes met Catriona's and he started explaining to her what Sam's phone call had been about. She interrupted him halfway through his explanation: "Are you telling me that we are being called out because they found bones in an old graveyard?" her tone was a little sarcastic. James sighed and rolled his eyes: "No. If you didn't interrupt me constantly… Sam's team found recent bones in the remains they are examining from the Necropolis. The last burial at the Necropolis took place over twenty years ago, so there shouldn't be any recent bones there."

"OK. That makes more sense. How recent are we talking?"

"Sam's got a forensic anthropologist working with him, and she reckons less than five years old, but she can't be more specific at this stage. They only have an arm to go on."

DS Stewart pulled onto the car park of the University and they made their way to the lab that Sam had indicated on the phone. By then, the earlier sunshine had been replaced by grey clouds and a rain shower, and they had to get to the other end of the campus. Sometimes she really hated this place! James saw the annoyed look on her face and smiled at her; she rolled her eyes. He actually liked the rain! Only a Glaswegian could enjoy this weather.

They had been working together for two years now and they still teased each other about where they came from all the time. Catriona was from Aboyne, a small town on Deeside, which enjoyed a microclimate of sorts and was usually sunnier and warmer than the rest of the country. James was a born and bred Glaswegian, he had grown up with Sam in Partick. Catriona called James a Weegie and he called her a Teuchter, an old Scots word referring to people from the Highlands.

Finally, they got to the lab and were greeted by Sam; behind him was a tall and slender woman with auburn hair and very inquisitive eyes. When Sam introduced her as Doctor Temperance Brennan, Catriona almost squealed, but instead smiled. She didn't usually indulge in crime fiction but she found that Doctor Brennan's books were well written and the science, of course, was dead on. Catriona had done a science degree in University, followed by a MSc in Forensic Sciences before joining the police, and she couldn't stand vague or inaccurate science in anything she read or watched. That was another source of teasing from James; a law school graduate, he loved to make up science sounding arguments just to rile her.

Tempe observed the two police officers before her; they were in their thirties, the man perhaps a little older than the woman, both with dark hair and blue eyes, a Celt genetic trait she thought. She didn't know what to make of them yet. Her dealings with local police in the US weren't always fruitful. At least they looked smart and the male officer was a friend of Sam's, so she was pretty sure he would be on the ball. They asked her to explain what had happened and she told them of her discovery and added that after a cautious search of the other boxes of remains, no one on the team had found the rest of the skeleton. However, they had found several skulls that also appeared to be recent, but from the age she had determined, none of the skulls could be part of the same skeleton as the arm. So they were looking at several victims. DI James Munro sighed. This was going to be a tough one. They didn't have complete remains, so identifying the victims would be difficult. At least the bone expert standing in front of him would be able to help out, and she was one of the best in her field according to Sam. Now he was going to have to tell his superiors that she wanted to dig up the Necropolis where the landslide had occurred, so she could try to locate the rest of the remains. They better keep this quiet for as long as possible or tomorrow's red tops were going to have a field day with this one.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Again thank you to Sherlock Bones for beta reading. This is a short chapter. I'll try to submit updates more regularly. Thank you to all of you who took time to read the story. Keep the reviews coming in.

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Chapter 5

Temperance was working late, going through the X-rays of all the recent bones they had found. Everyone had gone home; many had offered to stay and help, but sadly none of them were trained enough to help her at this point. The police was still trying to obtain authorisation to carry out an extended search of the cemetery, and it would most likely be the weekend before she was allowed on site. Still, they had made progress since the day before; she now had quite a lot of data pertaining to the skulls and she had been allowed to send enough of those to Angela for facial reconstructions. The information that she had been able to gather was being used to search the missing persons' databases. So far nothing had popped up.

She had phoned Booth earlier to catch up, and he had seemed really disappointed she was involved in an investigation without him. He had offered to come over, until she reminded him that the FBI had no jurisdiction in the UK. The three skulls they had found were those of teenage girls, with limited access to dental health, and various indicators had pointed towards possible Eastern European origins. All skulls bore signs of blunt force trauma and subdural haematoma, which were most likely the cause of death.

Somehow the local tabloids had got a hold of the story and were running it on the front page. The lab phones had rung all day, trying to get an interview with her or Sam. DI Mackenzie had been furious when he had seen the papers, and only his colleague had managed to calm him down. Tempe had observed the young police woman carefully. She didn't know what she had whispered to him but it had worked. Maybe she should ask her. It could be useful next time Booth lost the rag in an interrogation.

She was stretching her neck and shoulders when she heard a noise behind her and turned. At the other end of the lab, a man all cloaked in dark clothing was putting the arm bones and skulls into a large sports bag, he didn't seem to have notice her and she made her way quietly towards him. As she zigzagged between the worktables, however, she tripped on a stool leg. The noise alerted the man to her presence. He looked up and pounced on her; she ducked and managed to throw him off balance. She was getting ready to elbow him in the face when a glint in his hand caught her eye; he had a knife, and a large one by the look of things. He lowered his arm and she moved just in time for the blade to miss her chest, but still catching her arm and shoulder blade superficially. The lab furniture was in the way and she couldn't fight him off easily. She punched him a couple of times and heard his nose break. He shoved her hard against one of the table and lost her balance, falling forward and hitting her head on the stool as she fell. The whole room went dark…


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: I couldn't really leave in the dark for long. I'm not that cruel. Thanks to Sherlock Bones for beta-reading.

* * *

Chapter 6

She woke up with a splitting headache. She opened her eyes slowly and found herself in what looked like a hospital ward. She started to check herself out; she had a bandage on her left upper arm and a dull pain in her shoulder blade, as well as in her wrist. Her face felt bruised as well. What time was it? She looked for her clothes and found her mobile phone in her jeans pocket. The clock read 9.33. She must have been there all night. Just when she was considering getting up, the curtain surrounding her bed moved and Sam appeared, concern filling his eyes. A smile crept up when he saw she was awake. He filled her in: one of the night janitors had found her while doing his rounds, and called an ambulance. He had been contacted shortly after, and had been waiting with her since. DI Mackenzie and DS Stewart were waiting in the corridor wanting to hear what had happened. Tempe told Sam to let them in and she explained concisely what had happened. She asked Sam how much of the remains were missing and he said that all the skulls and the arm were gone, but thankfully the X-rays and all the samples that had been taken from the bones were all still in the lab. Apparently, the man hadn't really known how much work had been done so far.

The two police officers informed them that permission had been granted to excavate the cemetery further and they had arranged for two uniformed officers to be present at the lab constantly so that no further remains or data could be stolen. They also tried to get Tempe to remember as much as she could about her attacker, but she hadn't seen his face well, so all she could give them was general description of size and build, and the fact he would have needed to get his nose checked out. They made their way out after Tempe had made them promised that they would wait for her to start on the dig, at least to supervise the recovery team. Just then her phone rang. It was Booth: "Hey Bones, how are you doing? I'm with Angela right now, she's completed those facial reconstructions for you and she's wondering if she can beam it to you…"

"Hum, I don't have my computer right now, but if she can send me all this in an e-mail, I'll take a look as soon as I'm out of the hospital. It shouldn't be long, I've only got minor…"

"What? What hospital?" Booth interrupted, alarmed.

"I interrupted a burglar last night in the lab. He stole our remains, I tried to stop him and it got nasty but I'm fine and…"

"Don't they have some kind of security in that lab?! Right Bones, that's it! I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon as I can." And with that he hung up before she could argue with his decision.

A doctor came round to check on Tempe soon after she hung up, and she was informed of the extent of her injuries. The young female doctor was adamant that she should stay at least another day, so that they could ensure there was no head trauma and that the small fracture to her left scaphoid was setting properly. She also wanted to make sure that her rather opinionated patient was going to rest, at least a little bit, and she was convinced that rest would be the last thing on her mind if Dr. Brennan was allowed out. Sam managed to convince Tempe to listen to the doctor and promised to return soon with a change of clothes, some books and her ipod, so she wouldn't be bored.

On Sunday morning, Tempe felt much better, the pain in her arm having receded a little and her headache was completely gone. She was still sporting a nice bruise on her temple, where she had connected with the table, but it had gone down considerably already. She was determined that she was getting out today.

Mid-morning, DS Stewart and Sam were in the room with her arguing as to where she would stay over the next few days. Tempe wanted to get back to her apartment, whereas Sam and DS Stewart wanted her to stay somewhere where she wouldn't be alone, for her own safety. After all, there was no guarantee that whoever had assaulted her in the lab, wasn't going to try to finish what he had started. Tempe countered back that if that was the case, she really shouldn't be staying with Sam, since that would put both him and his pregnant wife in harm's way. They were still bickering about where she should stay, when the curtain opened and Booth appeared, looking weary, his cheeks darkened by a light stubble and his hair sticking out in several places. "Bones! Only you would go away on a holiday and find yourself involved in a murder investigation and get hurt, twice! I would have thought that business in New Orleans would have made you rethink your holiday plans you know… Next time why don't you try the beach or a nice cruise? Anyway what's all the arguing about?"

"Booth! How I spend my free time is up to me… Besides we weren't arguing…" At this point Tempe registered the smirk on Sam's face and the puzzled look on DS Stewart's. Neither of them had met Booth. She made the introductions, noticing the police officer tensing up slightly at the mention of Booth's professional title. Perhaps she was afraid he would try to interfere with the investigation.

Sam explained to Booth their concerns over Tempe's safety should she go back to her own apartment. Booth gave one of his patented charm smiles and informed everyone that he intended to follow Bones like a second shadow and would be staying with her, so her safety should be assured. DS Stewart said she was satisfied with those arrangements and that she would organise for regular patrols to check the building as well. With that, the police officer left and Booth turned to Bones, who was wearing a scowl on her face. Booth realised she was about to launch in one her tirade about his over protectiveness and alpha male attitude or something of that ilk. He wasn't going to give her the chance, he was tired and he had been really worried about her, so he smiled gently and bent forward so that he could speak almost in her ear: "Bones, I was really worried about you, so I'm sorry if you're pissed off that I'm making decisions for you here. but I'm not about to give some nutjob a second crack at hurting you and that's final!"

"I'm glad you're here." She said after a brief silence. His tone had told her he really was concerned for her and she had to admit she was glad to see him. Good grief!! How needy was she becoming? Truth was she had missed him a lot these last few days. Not during the day because she had been too busy to think about anything, but in the evenings, she had found herself wishing he would somehow just turn up at the door with bags of Thai food, just like he would in DC.

"OK, so when can you leave then?" Booth had pulled back a little now and he was already starting to fidget.

A few hours later they were in Booth's rental car, a small Vauxhall Corsa which had been the only car left at the airport rental company and which made him look even taller and broader than he was, driving towards Brennan's street, following Sam's car for directions. It was raining again and the whole city looked miserable; the wind had also picked up a little. Booth was not talking much as he had to concentrate hard on his driving: the traffic was heavy, he was driving on the wrong side of the road, the lanes were narrow and the car was not an automatic…Boy! This woman made him do stupid things sometimes.

After finding out she had been hurt, he had managed to contact Sam and heard the whole story. Sam had also provided details about the hospital she was in. It had been difficult to convince Cullen that he needed to take time off on such short notice, but eventually his boss had relented. Thankfully there was one seat left in economy on the next flight to London and the travel agent had arranged for a descent connection to Glasgow. He had left that afternoon and arrived in London early on Sunday morning, and in Glasgow before lunchtime.

He had wondered what the city would be like. He hoped that Bones' commitments would also allow them to spend some time together, maybe tour the country a bit. Hold that thought, he told himself, she would probably drag him to every single museum and insist on listening to some awful bagpipe music in the name of anthropology. He had missed her enormously. She had only been gone a week but it had felt like more.

Over the last year they had grown much closer, dancing around each other, but after Zach had been sent away, they had spent even more time together. He found that he was yearning for her presence all the time and he couldn't fool himself anymore into thinking that it was what partners, even friends did. And now, there he was in a silly toy car, thousand of miles away from DC, just for her because she needed his protection. She denied it all the time and kept telling him she didn't need protecting; maybe not from others, but from herself, yes, she did. He glanced at her sideways. She looked a little pale and tired. He was sure she hadn't been eating properly this past week. She usually didn't if he didn't bring her food all the time. Thankfully her injuries were minor and the hospital had discharged her with a provision of pain-killers and some dressings to change those covering her wounds. But that bruise, boy that bruise on the side of her head... and the light cast on her left wrist to help set the fracture to her scaphoid bone. She had agreed to rest until Tuesday, then she would supervise the recovery of possible other remains from the cemetery. He would tag along, no way he was letting her out of his sight! He just hoped the local cops wouldn't mind. He knew how territorial the local police could get back home and he suspected that having some foreign cop taking an interest in your already complicated investigation didn't rank high on the wish list of whoever was in charge. The female officer he had seen at the hospital had been friendly enough if a little standoffish, so he'd have to be diplomatic about this.

In front of them, Sam had slowed down and they came to a halt in a rather narrow street. He found a space to park right in front of her building (at least that stupidly small car was good for something) and they got out. After having thanked Sam, they went in and made their way to her apartment.

A few hours later they were sitting in front of a couple of pizzas they had had delivered; Booth had showered and changed, and he was flicking through the channels on the small television.

"What?? They only have five channels??" He exclaimed loudly.

"Well I think there are more if you have satellite or cable but I think that's all the terrestrial ones yes…"

Suddenly he was motioning her to be quiet, the news had come on and her face filled the screen. The news reader went on to explain that she had been sent home today and that she would be taking part in the investigation over the next few days. Booth cursed loudly! Unbelievable! Why not release her address as well! Bones turned to him looking as bewildered as he was. She explained to him how the discovery of the arm and skull had been leaked to the press quickly as well and that DI James Mackenzie had already put someone on the case to find out where the leak was coming from. Booth switched off the television in disgust; there wasn't anything worth watching anyway. Maybe later on there would be a movie or something.

It occurred to him that he had no idea where he was going to sleep. He hadn't slept well in the plane and was really looking forward to a bed but he didn't think the flat had more than one. Casually he asked: "So where am I sleeping tonight Bones? Got another bed in here somewhere?"

"No, there is only the one bed in the bedroom but I think the sofa is a pull-out and there is some spare bedding in one of the cupboards. I hope you'll be comfortable enough. Speaking of bed, I think I should go now, I'm still pretty tired and these pain-killers are making me drowsy."

Booth was turning for what felt like the hundredth time on the sofa. It wasn't very comfortable at all, in fact he was considering making his bed on the floor as he was convinced it would be better than the tired, old paper-thin mattress which barely covered the springs. Suddenly he heard a movement and saw Bones coming out of the corridor and towards the kitchen, she wasn't sleeping well either. He sat up and called her gently, she must have been startled because she gave a slight jolt before turning to face him: "Sorry if I woke you Booth, I left my pain-killers here and everything really hurts again…"

"It's okay, I wasn't sleeping anyway, this is possibly the worst pull-out bed ever" he said quietly.

He had walked up to her and she saw he was just wearing some light cottons pants and no T-shirt. Suddenly she remembered that she was only wearing a small T-shirt and some boy shorts and she felt very exposed. They were standing in front of each other in the darkness, like two shadow puppets. He reached out with his hand and touched her cheek gently. "Are you okay?" He asked

"I just hurt a little, that's all", she replied almost whispering. She paused and spoke again a little louder. "Thanks for being here, Booth, I mean it." At this he pulled her into a gentle hug. It felt good, a little too good even. She didn't want to let go of him. She was drinking in the smell of him, a mix of soap, light sweat and something else, his very own smell, she guessed, a sort of pheromone, which was definitely working on her. Eventually she pulled away; she looked up and felt a pang of guilt when she saw how tired he looked. "Booth, if the sofa is really that uncomfortable, maybe we can share the bed for tonight and tomorrow we can figure something out…"

"You know I think I'll take you up on that offer." He said. He didn't really think it was such a great idea but he was way too tired to argue and he just wanted to sleep.

It took him a while to finally find sleep. Bones had drifted off pretty quickly once her medication had kicked in and he could hear the rhythmic breathing from her sleeping form next to him.


End file.
